Monday, August 7, 2017

I recently had a staycation at the Element Boston Seaport hotel and had a summer cookout with friends. No, really, the Element hotel rooms are equipped with a kitchen and their patio has a grill that guests are welcome to use, as well, making it easy for both short or longer-term guests to "eat in" while they're staying here.

Yes, we cooked this at a hotel

First off, the Element is a new hotel that opened up in Seaport last year, just across the street from Lawn on D.
Element has rooms and suites, both of which are equipped with kitchenettes.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Wendake in Quebec is a special place. Wendake is the reservation of the Hurons-Wendat people, who have built a hotel, museum, and restaurant of the First Nations people (Hôtel-Musée Premières Nations). While the Native Americans in the USA tend to have casinos as their means of income, Wendake is very different. It's an elegant hotel that I feel really embodies the values and traditions of the first nations people, while incorporating modern comforts and amenities.

The primary draw for me, of course, is the restaurant La Traite, which serves a modern take on first nations cuisine. We first made our way to the lounge for a tasting of their signature cocktails, which are named after the biggest clans of the Huron-Wendat. Some of these contain traditional ingredients like wild blueberries or labrador tea, and one is made with Ungava gin, a Canadian gin made with many unusual, traditional herbs!

Since it's too difficult the type out the names with the proper accents, here's a photo of the cocktail menu:

Thursday, April 14, 2016

A romantic, quiet outdoor dining just off of the Sunset Strip, Cavatina is currently flying under the radar. It's surprising that not more people know about this restaurant, which offers a solid menu of both food and wine.

Not a lot of people know about this restaurant that is hidden inside the Sunset Marquis hotel, but it offers a gorgeous outdoor dining experience. Get a table on the outside that overlooks the man-made waterfall for a more romantic setting.

Cavatina's cuisine is originally headed by James Beard winning Chef and Restaurateur Michael Schlow who has a restaurant empire on the East Coast. I've previously had a great lunch experience at Cavatina, but now I returned to try the dinner menu. The evening provided a very different ambiance as well!

Lamb meatballs, tomato, cumin, pine nuts ($12)

It's nice that the tomato sauce here doesn't overpower the flavors of the meatballs themselves.

Homemade potato chips ($7) with green chile onion dip - this one's a mainstay on the menu that I've had during lunch before.

Yellowtail, cucumber agua chile, pickled persimmon, masago ($19), a light and refreshing dish that highlights the texture of the yellowtail.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

I've visited The Berkshires in the fall, but I finally made my first foray out here in the winter time. The Berkshires is quiet in the winter, but that also makes for a relazing, tranquil getaway. I love this winter sunset view.

This time, I stayed at Inn at Richmond, set in a colonial style home dating back to the 18th century. This inn is close to Hancock Shaker Village and the Bousquet Ski Area.

My room was a charming suite in the main building. The second room has a pull-out sofa bed.

The inn has multiple rooms and suites, and even private cottages complete with a kitchen that are perfect for families.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Fall is a great time to visit Massachusetts, especially towards the mountains. I used the opportunity to visit The Berkshires for some leaf peeping, staying at a Select Registry property, Brook Farm Inn in Lenox. Time for some fall foliage!

Brook Farm Inn is a small, cute inn/bed and breakfast set in a cottage built in 1882.

I was staying on the 3rd floor, in The Poet's Room. It's a cozy and romantic room.

Monday, September 8, 2014

We oftentimes ignore hotel restaurants. In fact, I didn't even know the Sunset Marquis hotel had a restaurant - and it's gorgeous. The newly revamped and renamed restaurant, Cavatina, is tucked in the heart of the hotel. The outdoor area is naturally popular during the day, with lush greenery and a faux waterfall nearby.

Executive Chef Roger Eggleston (formerly of Ten Pound Bar) has teamed up with Boston's James Beard winner Michael Schlow for the revamped restaurant's menu. I recently came in for lunch to check it out.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Once a year, The Langham hotels celebrate their anniversary by serving afternoon tea service for the original price that the first Langham hotel in London charged. Back in 1865, afternoon tea was 1 shilling and 6 pence. That means, dear readers, that on June 10 you can get the $38 afternoon tea at The Langham in Boston for only $0.15!

I was lucky enough to go to the Pasadena Langham in 2011, but now it's gotten so popular you can only get reservations for the special priced-tea by lottery only. Knowing I would already be in Boston, I entered the lottery for the Boston Langham, and what do you know, I got it!

My friends and new roommate and I took a long lunch that Tuesday and headed to the hotel lobby. Gift bags in the pretty Langham pink color were on the table .. ooh, but more on that at the end.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Sportsmen’s Lodge, once known as San Fernando Valley’s fixture for fine dining and celebrity scene, is banking on high-priced makeovers to boost more visitors and to compete with newer, much more contemporary venues opening up blocks away.

The hotel – located strategically on Ventura Blvd and
Coldwater Canyon Avenue - opened 52 years ago and was a popular hangout spot
for movie writers, stars, producers – Clark Gable, Katherine Hepburn, Grace
Kelly, and Humphrey Bogart are frequent guests.
Rumor has it, these celebrities were very fond of the trout-fishing
lake. They were given rods and bait to catch their fish and make dinner, courtesy
of the lodge’s restaurant. However, in 1971, fishing activity at the lodge was
shut down by the Department of Public Health due to the San Fernando
earthquake.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

The restaurant inside the Sofitel Los Angeles hotel in Beverly Hills is now Esterel, a French-focused restaurant that kept the sleek interior of its predecessor.

The bread basket is generous and even included gougeres!

I came to try their lunch menu (although I tried them during dinner), which is mainly composed of a selection of tartine - open faced sandwiches - named after. Each tartine is served with a green salad and some fries.

Monday, August 12, 2013

The Georgian Hotel in Santa Monica is a symbol of old Hollywood glamour and the hotel recently celebrated their 80th anniversary with the launch of a 1930s retro dining menu and a prohibition cocktail menu, available at The Veranda Restaurant. The Veranda Restaurant is literally on the front veranda of the hotel, overlooking Ocean Avenue.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Walliser Stube at The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise serves fondues and Swiss-German dishes. What does Lake Louise have to do with Switzerland and why does Chateau Lake Louise have a Swiss restaurant inside the restaurant? So Lake Louise is where Canadians first delve into mountaineering and after one fell to his death while climbing, Canadian Pacific hired professional mountain guides from Switzerland to lead guests.

The restaurant is divided into a few dining rooms. The one we were in is pretty casual. You can get a set menu with appetizers and fondue or you can order a la carte.

Bread service

The non-fondue menu changes seasonally and appetizers may include things like Rabbit and Cornish hen pave wrapped in leek, with sweetbreads

The dish is quite rich and satisfying.
Main entrees include dishes with local trout, local Alberta beef rib tenderloin and bison rib eye, and Wiener Schnitzel. But, I had to try the fondue. I'm sure most of you have had fondue before at The Melting Pot or some other place. There's the well-known cheese fondue, and there's also the meat fondue cooked in beef bouillon, served with a variety of sauces as shown on the left. My favorite is the herb and garlic sauce.

The cheese fondue is made of Gruyere, Emmental, Appenzeller cheese, and white wine. The finishing touch is of your choice, with the traditional choice being Kirsch, a type of cherry brandy. I, of course, chose black truffle! Black truffle shavings in my cheese fondue, yum.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Casa Del Mar has been elevating their cocktail program under the radar, inviting renowned bartenders locally and internationally to train their staff and help with new menus. One of the latest such consultant is LA's own Aidan Demarest.

Not only that, now you can age your own 5 liters of cocktails with your name or logo etched into the barrel! Choose from Brooklyn, Manhattan, or Vesper, or consult with the bartenders for your own. Once you finish the contents, you get to take the barrel home as a keepsake. The pricing for this starts around $500 per barrel (it depends on the spirits you use).

The lead bartender, Raymond, has also been coming up with fun new cocktails using fresh produce, like the
Smoky Beets (Alipus mezcal, fresh beet puree, lime juice, Ras El Hanout). This may be my favorite out of the cocktails I tried. The beet flavor wasn't overpowering and the ras el hanout is a unique touch.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

It's a little known fact that some of the Fairmont hotels have started honey bee hives on their rooftops, wherever it was possible. This has included the Fairmont in Newport Beach, Seattle, and San Francisco (where you can also try the honey beers made by a local brewery with their honey). I was invited to a dinner at Fairmont Newport a few months ago and got to check out the rooftop bees with a view of the sunset! The hives at Fairmont Newport and maintained and harvested with the help of Backyard Bees.

We had a honey tasting in the small room on the rooftop. Little did I know just how different honey can taste, until you compare two side by side. The black pan was harvested from these hives in June. This early summer honey is more floral than the August harvest. Both of them were excellent, by the way, and I'm glad they gave us a little jar to take home.

After some cocktails and arancini, we had an al fresco dinner in their beautiful garden, a picture perfect spot for a small wedding with the white gazebo in the back.